Jersey Darkling

At the end of the Christmas Carol, a reclaimed Scrooge tells Bob Cratchit that he would talk about raising his wage over a bowl of hot bishop. What the hell is bishop? Well, according to master bartender Jerry Thomas, it involves port, an orange, and an open fire. Frankly, too tedious. It wasn't until I came upon a modernization of it from the experts from New York's Employees Only bar that I would try to make it myself. Let me recount it here from their great book Speakeasy (try it, then buy the book).

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Stud an orange (I used a blood orange to awesome effect) with 30 whole cloves and place in a baking dish. Bake for about 30 minutes. Immediately, cut the orange into quarters and place in a sauce pan with a 750 ml bottle of your favorite port (I used Sandeman); simmer for another 30 minutes. Remove the orange, strain, add 1 cup of superfine sugar. Cool and bottle. Great warm or cold.

Jersey Darkling
Holly's Originals Series

2 1/4 ounces English Bishop
2 ounces Applejack
2 dashes Peychaud's Bitters

For our cocktail, we'll riff from an Employees Only recipe that contains bishop called the Jersey Devil. The original devil calls for an apple liqueur currently absent from the Firewater Lounge, so we will pour something in between their devil and the classic port and brandy. For the Darkling, stir all ingredients on ice and strain. Garnish with an orange, if you like.